New Look and New Thoughts

So I have been really getting into reading blogs as well as writing blogs. I have seen that other blogs have really unique and personal headers and cool backgrounds. Thanks to Maggie, she helped me to make a header and find a cool background. She is also the one who is selling the stuff on etsy, I bought a wallet from her and I love it, its made very well and I love the fabric!



I know that I have also talked about being Utility staff, but I got a chance to talk to Belinda and now feel even better about it, I am actually starting to get excited about this summer. I am so happy that I called her and that I understand the reasoning behind it. I know I should have trusted God as to what position he put me in, but I wasn't thinking about that, I wanted to figure it out MYSELF and I have realized that it NEVER work.

Utility....

So I found out today that I am going to be a Utility staff this summer. When I first read it I have to admit I was a bit disappointed because I felt like that was a job you get when they have filled every other position. But after thinking about it I realized that that is not true and that God put me in this position for a reason. I am really nervous that once in that position that I will be called into a roll I do not feel equip to do, but because of that fact I hope to really cling to God during this summer and say "Lord send me wherever you need me to be," if that means staying in one site and just being an extra staff there all summer, or if it means going to 5 different sites and filling in when needed. I am willing to go and do whatever the Lord needs me to do!

Better World Shopper

So last week I got the Better World Shopping Guide by Ellis Jones and I feel that every time I am in my living room to see what product and places are socially responsible. I am seeing that a lot of the products that I use or that we use here for ministry are normally on the D or F list and that makes me so sad. I really just wish there was something that I could do to change that for our ministries, but we can't be picky when we get things donated. As for me, I would really love to try and be proactive about what I buy and where I spend my money. This is definitely tough since I don't have a lot of money to spend.
I know that I would love to try and be more socially responsible with the money that I do have and I hope that some day I can really strive and not buy things from the D and F list.

If you are reading this and have never heard of the Better Wold Shopping Guide I suggest you go to the website and check it out, it will change your life! www.betterworldshopper.org

Child like Faith

So I have been babysitting since yesterday around one and will be babysitting until tomorrow, and I have realized a few key things in my life since that time:

1) I truly love kids and hanging out with them, they can really tire me out, but its worth it! They have the best imagination, why can't we as adults have that kind of imagination, when do we lose it?? I know I personally will find myself bored, not knowing what to do, but if I were to actually use my imagination more often, I would never be bored!

2) I am realizing what it really means to have child like faith, like in Mark 10:15- I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." I hear these kids sing the christian songs that are playing and know that they really mean it. So often we can sing a song and not mean it.

It is crazy what 3 straight days with just kid interaction can teach you, kids are so great!

Blue Like Jazz

So I just finished reading Blue Like Jazz today. The last two chapters really hit me hard, when I was reading I felt that I was reading about my struggles and things that I need to work on. One of the chapters was talking about loving yourself and that is something that I struggle with. Don Miller also talks about how you have to be accepting of love from others and when you love yourself you can accept if from others and a really good quote that really struck me was: "God's love will never change us if we don't accept it." Wow, that is powerful, God always is and always has been offering his love to us, but until we accept it won't change us.

In the last chapter it is talking about Jesus and knowing Jesus, he talks about what it would be like to be with Jesus when he was with his disciples and how we would listen to him and see the lines on his face. I want to be sitting around a fire with Jesus listening to his stories and his wisdom and looking at his face so closely that I can see the lines.
After that, he jumps into talking about how Jazz was invented out of slavery and that they slaves could not put into words what they were feeling so they made this music. He then goes on to ask: "What song will you sing when your soul gets freed?" Which is a good question, but for me especially it struck me even more, because I feel that right now I have a wall up, not allowing God into my inner soul and during a prayer he relieved to me that He is working to break down that wall and when I read this question it made me so excited to finally have that day when I truly allow God in and see what song I will sing :)

True Community

This week was really good, I didn't have a normal week, it was actually a slow week, but still good. Monday was Hot Spot and then we got to help Jennifer haul in some racks that she got from Steve and Barry's since they closed for the Black Pants Project, we also helped her empty out her office, which was sad because it was becoming more real that there isn't much going on at the Schooner Center. At the same time Marsha was moving all of her stuff out, so CTC isn't in there either. Tuesday I was at the Salvation Army and that was fun, it was good to see everyone there again and catch up with Captain Amanda. Wednesday I went to Acorn and had fun catching up with everyone, especially Ginny. Thursday there was a pretty bad snow storm so schools were delayed and so the Salvation Army wasn't going to open until noon and since I had a meeting at 1 with Pastor John about Spring Break stuff I didn't end up going and got to sleep in, which was nice.

The came Friday and because of the cold weather they had canceled school the night before, so we knew we could sleep in and go to Starbucks later since we didn't have to drop Bryan off at the school. When I woke up I had a message from Jono to call Captain Mike and Amanda. So I called and they wondered if I wanted to go to their house for a women's group and surprise birthday party for one of the ladies that goes to their church and then go to see HSM3 with their family after. So instead of going to Starbucks, I got dropped off at the Jungs' house.

When I got there Amanda was just starting to cook so I got to help her cook- chocolate waffles with homemade chocolate sauce, strawberries, raspberries, and whipped cream, strawberry parfait, and raspberry soda with strawberries on the edge of the glass. We set the table like a really fancy restaurant. It was perfect timing, we just finished up everything and everyone showed up. We set out the food and everyone ate and enjoyed each others company. Janice was so surprised, she was also so touched we would do that for her. It was such a good time, there were 8 adults and 5 kids and it was a lot of fun.

After we all just hung out and fellowshiped, danced, and just had a lot of laughs. We also got into some good conversations. Then we all decided what movie we wanted to go to and made sure everyone had someone to go with and headed off to McDonald's before going to the movies.

After getting home from my day out, I realized how blessed I am to know these people and how today I felt that I was in true community with them and getting to know them on a deeper level. For one of the first times here I really felt that I belonged in the community.